As you may know if you read our blog regularly we are constantly improving and updating our wine-making facilities here at the Bodega. A short while ago we spent a considerable amount of money on improvements to our temperature control machinery, but unfortunately we later discovered that it still did not work quite as efficiently as it should. The required solution? To upgrade all the pipework, tubing and pumps supplying the refridgerated solution to the cooling jackets of the tanks.

After waiting months for the specialist refridgeration company to come and complete the job, they finally turned up a week or two ago (only a few weeks before the start of the harvest, where temperature control of the tanks plays a critical role in the wine-making).

Finally, the moment came to test the upgraded system…….. Bang! Bang! Bang! Disaster!

The loud banging noise that reverberated around the cellar was caused by the empty tanks imploding on themselves. I cannot beginning to explain what actually caused the problem, but suffice to say that a vacuum that built up in the cooling system was sufficiently strong to collapse the stainless steel walls of the tanks!

The above photograph is taken looking upwards at a tank that was formerly a perfect cylinder shape, and it is very easy to see the damage. We are told that these distortions can be repaired, albeit that not every tank will be perfect – unfortunately, time to involve lawyers and insurance companies.

In the meantime we have been assured that the system will be up and running before we start picking (probably next week), and that there will be no detremental effect to the quality our wine.

The week of 4th September is a ‘Festivo’ in our local beach resort of Sanxenxo, and this is normally celebrated, amongst other things, by a funfair, a series of concerts, culminating in a reasonably spectacular firework display. These are launced from two platforms – a large boat and a pontoon moored in the centre of the bay, and usually make a wonderful spectacle as the vivid colours are reflected against the water.

This year, instead of going up in smoke, I regret to say that owing to bad weather, the display sank more or less without trace! On the night of the festival itself the wind started to gust in the Ria of Pontevedra, and at the last moment the display was called off for safety reasons. Whilst the boat was able to scurry for shelter in a local port, the pontoon (carrying the bulk of the display) was left at the mercy of the elements.

The following morning the pontoon was found beached, partially broken up, with at least some of it’s explosive cargo scattered in the sea. Suffice to say the dramatic end to this years celebration did not really go according to plan.

In the last few days we have had some rather spectacular storms in Galicia, which I guess is quite normal for the time of year. Last Friday for example, I was sitting at my desk in the Bodega listening to a storm that was getting closer and closer by the second. As a safety measure I decided to switch off all the computers, despite the fact that they are fitted with surge protection and back up batteries. Within two or three minutes there was a very load bang and simultaneous flash as the storm passed directly overhead – at the same time there was also a strange cracking noise in the aluminium window frame of the office. That must have been close!

I did not realise at the time, but this lightning strike had actually wiped out our telephone lines (we still have old fashioned overhead cables – none of that new fangled fibre optic cable here you know!) So, as I sit writing this post, three days later, on a computer at home, we still do not have any telephone, fax or DSL line in the wine cellar, and once again we find ourselves cut off from the outside world. Fingers crossed that we don’t miss any important pre-harvest orders……

Another footnote about the photography: The first photo was taken on Friday evening from a terrace in the local seaside resort of Sanxenxo as yet another storm approached. The second photo was taken a few moments later. The unusual light trails in the second photo were created when I picked up my tripod and ran (with the shutter still open). I had decided that a guy on an open terrace with an aluminium tripod would probably make a good lightning conductor, so I just picked up my kit and made a quick exit. I still consider myself too young to die for my art!

I would like to pretend that I’m really a whiz with computers, when in reality my teenage daughter would probably categorise me as a ‘technofool’. To be honest it’s just taken me 4 days to re-format my computer here in the bodega, and I’ve been struggling to retrieve all the data – I think/hope that I may have succeeded…..

In the meantime you may have noticed that our blog, until now, did not allow you the opportunity to comment. Now you may think that this was simply because I was too aloof, and did not care about your opinion, when in reality is was simply a question of HTML.

The template that I use from the Blogger website had a glitch in the hard coding, and it has taken an expert to sort it out. Not me, I would hasten to add, but by my new acquaintance Ryan from the Catavino blogsite. (Also see our links)

So, the good news is that you can now comment on my stories, or possibly rubbish my opinion if you feel so inclined. The only request that I would make is – be gentle with me (and please keep it clean)!

The reason that I write about the Botellón with such frequency, is of course, because it relates to drinking. Whilst many countries around Europe make attempts to tackle the unsociable behaviour of young people that surrounds heavy drinking, it seems that once again, Spain is proving the exception.

For those of you who have missed my previous posts on the subject, I will explain quickly that Botellón are basically organised street drinking parties that take place in nearly every village, town and city around Spain, every single weekend of the year. Young people stock up in supermarkets, usually with hard spirits and mixers, and drink them from large bottles (hence the name) in the street.

The old town centre of Pontevedra is a popular weekend target, and residents not only have to tolerate large crowds and the related noise problems, but also the fact that their doorsteps might easily be used as public urinals!

Rather than trying to tackle the problem head on, and persuading young people that heavy drinking is both unsociable and unhealthy, the mayor of Pontevedra (a doctor by profession) has now taken a different, slightly incredible tack….. Broadcasts on local radio, appealing to parents telling them that their children should not use the city centre of Pontevedra for public drinking, but that they should now use the official, local government approved drinking site instead. In other words, don’t stop your heavy drinking, just do it in a different place! From now on fines will supposedly be imposed for those who persist in drinking in the city centre, but in reality such threats are rarely followed through. We shall see…..

It is no secret that this new regulation is timed to come into effect just a few days after Pontevedra’s two week ‘fiesta of the Peligrina’ comes to an end.

Incidentally, you may have noticed that I made no mention of this year’s Albarino festival, held recently in Cambados. Despite being an event organised by our own D.O. we once again opted not to participate – and the reason? Well, if you bear in mind that the majority of ‘business’ is done between the hours of midnight and 06.00hrs, I will leave you to draw your own conclusion.

Parents – are you proud of your children?

After a poor start to the year, with a cold, wet spring and slightly uneven flowering, the weather finally picked up in July with three weeks of warm sunshine. Our vines responded accordingly with rapid growth of vegetation, or ‘vine vigour’ as it is known in some parts of the world. Of course to counteract this, and concentrate the energy of the plant into the production of ripe fruit we have to work hard thinning the canopy, thus ensuring that the developing bunches receive the correct exposure.

In the final week of July the fine weather came to an end, and it would be fair to say that since then the weather has been what can only be described as changeable – some days good, and others not so good. As often happens in Galicia we have to keep a close eye on the vineyards for any evidence of disease, and when needs must, we have no alternative but to administer the appropriate treatment. Never ideal, but this is the reality of our climate.

At this moment we are probably about a month away from the start of the 2008 vintage, and (touch wood), it is looking like we might have a similar sized harvest to 2007, albeit that it is much to early to predict how the quality might compare.

As a footnote to any aspiring photographers amongst our readers, the above shot of our ‘El Pazo’ vineyard is actually an HDR image. If you click on the photo to reveal it’s full size you will notice that the colours are very vivid, giving the picture a slightly surreal, almost exaggerated feel. This is achieved by marrying together five images taken from a fixed point, all with slightly different exposures, the overall result not only intensifying the colour, but also the shadow and highlights. More of this technique will no doubt appear in future postings…..

The months of August & September see the climax of grape hunting season here in Galicia. Following a very modest 2007 harvest (actually 40% less than 2006), and with 2008 shaping up to be similar in size, the precious Albaiño grape is proving to be quite scarce and difficult to procure.

Every year rumours abound of unscrupulous cellars buying Alvarinho grapes from just across the border in northern Portugal, with lorries running the gauntlet in the dead of night – well, this year we have our own plan…..

In April 2005 we sent some Albariño vines to a new, secret location, and, as witnessed by the photograph above, the fruit is almost there for the picking.

And the exact location of this new supply?…. Cobh, County Cork in the Republic of Ireland!!!

A few years ago I was invited to take part in a small experiment, to see how the Albariño vine would survive (or not) in the deep south of Ireland. An enthusiastic Irishman, who had just returned from a stroll down the Camino de Santiago, decided that he would try planting a few vines in his garden to see what would happen.

Well, clearly the vines have survived, and all we have to do now is to work out how to pick the grapes and get them back to our presses before they oxidise!

A setting not quite as romantic as our own ‘El Pazo’ vineyard

So here is the last in the trilogy of new motorway anecdotes, for now at least – my next post with be an update on progress in the vineyards, I promise.

When they originally erected this new bridge it was literally pointing straight at the roof of this house, albeit that it stopped about 15-20 metres short. Of course I just assumed that the house was awaiting demolition, and that perhaps the residents were quite naturally, putting up a fight. Not true…..

To my complete astonishment they continued to extend the road from the end of the bridge, and although it is a little difficult to make out from this photo, it turns at a sharp 90° angle. The new road now passes within probably 2 or 3 metres of the roof of the house, and any drunk motorist who does not manage to negotiate the sharp turn will certainly end up in bed with it’s occupants – and I don’t necessarily mean a hospital bed!

Wouldn’t it just have been a little easier to relocate the bridge?

In my previous post about the new motorway link to our bodega I mentioned that there were one or two odd features in its design and layout. Perhaps it is just my failing memory but I don’t actually recall seeing a pedestrian crossing at the end of a motorway on/off ramp before. Crossing the road in Spain is hazardous enough without stepping out into speeding traffic, even if (on paper), you supposedly have the right of way.